Night Shift
by Caranath
Summary: an outsider's POV when Joe is injured.  again.  First in a series.


**A/N: **_This is the first in a series of Point of View stories revolving around the same subject. Joe whumping, of course. Not sure how many there will be in total, but Frank and Laura will definitely have their say. Possibly Fenton and one other person making a cameo appearance. _

**Night Shift**

Amanda Keller, Mandy to her friends and co workers, pulled into the parking lot of Bayport General Hospital just slightly after 1030 pm one crisp October night. There was a chill in the air that stung of snow and she shivered as she quickly half ran, half walked from the employee section of the lot and headed towards the large automatic double doors that slid open silently at her approach, ushering her into the large open Emergency Room entrance. Stopping only briefly at the Admitting desk to say hi to the pair of nurses keeping a watchful eye on the myriad of waiting patients, she was soon on her way up to her domain on the third floor, ICU.

Amanda had always preferred the night shift. There was something calming about it, despite the fact that medical emergencies do not keep time. But there were fewer demands from insistent doctors who all assumed that their patient was the only one on the ward who required any care or monitoring. Aside from regular trips to administer medication, or to check vital signs, there was little to do. As a result, she often helped out the day shift by catching up on paperwork and tidying up the large circular nurses' station. She had anticipated tonight to be no different until she glanced up at the large white board that took up most of the wall behind the station. Fortunately, there were only 4 names on the board, but she caught her breath at the last one on the list.

" Not again?" she cried, half amused, half exasperated. "Which one is it this time?" she asked her fellow Night Shift colleague, Linda Marks. " The cute one" she replied with a grin.

Amanda, who was well past her mid 40's, only chuckled at her 20 years younger coworker's comment. "They're _both_ cute."

Linda sobered. "The younger one. Poor kid. It's only been a few months since his last stay."

Amanda felt a sharp stab of worry. Of course she cared deeply about all her patients, but the blond teenager was a frequent customer and so she had a touch more empathy for him. It always seemed that he got the worse end of the stick no matter what. Of course she supposed that came with the territory. It was inevitable that the son of a well renowned private investigator who followed in his father's footsteps would invariably get into scrapes. It just seemed like Joe Hardy's were always more dire. That wasn't to say that his elder brother Frank didn't have frequent flyer privileges in ICU as well; it's just that his injuries always seemed.. less..catastrophic. And far less frequent.

Amanda sighed and asked "What are we looking at?"

Linda grabbed the chart that had Joe's name on it and flipped it open. "GSW to the abdomen, torso and left shoulder. Partially collapsed lung. Shoulder was through and through, but the other two are still in there. No involuntary response to stimuli on the lower extremities. He was being taken for MRI and x-rays, I assume to pinpoint the other 2 bullets and decide on surgery options."

The experienced nurse paled a little as the list was recited. Gunshot wounds were never a good thing, but belly wounds were often the hairiest of all. If the intestines , kidneys or liver were damaged, Joe could have a very long road to recovery, or, and she shook her head as if to chase away such thoughts, not recover at all. "I suppose his brother is here?"

"Of course. You'd think Joe would never get hurt, the way Frank always hovers nearby. I went ahead and sent him into 'Joe's Room'" this last was accompanied by air quotes as one room in particular in the ICU ward always seem to be the one Joe Hardy was given. In fact, last year, as he was spending his birthday in the ICU, the staff had given him his very own permanent name plate that could be slid into the holder outside each room. Amanda herself had given it to him, saying she was tried of always having to write his name.

"I'll go see how he's holding up then." with that Amanda dropped off her coat and handbag in the break room and grabbed 2 Styrofoam cups of coffee and headed towards the last room on the left corridor.

"Frank?" She spoke quietly, not wanting to disturb the young man if he was asleep.

The tall, lean dark haired youth who was so unlike his whirlwind of a brother in looks and temperament jumped at the sound but quickly recovered his composure. " Is he alright? He breathlessly pleaded, a look of desperation in his eyes.

"I'm not sure, dear, I only just came on duty. But I wanted to make sure you didn't need any one to look at you as well." Amanda knew all too well the brothers' penchant for ignoring their own injuries while insisting that their sibling was much more in need. Just six months ago Frank had collapsed from internal bleeding after Joe had been brought in yet again for what turned out to be minor injuries. That was one time that 'Joe's Room' had to be renamed 'Frank's Room'. She smiled a bit at the memory of Joe gleefully taking some masking tape and covering his own name and writing over it in bright orange Sharpie that of his brother's.

Frank only shook his head. But Amanda noticed the bloodstained clothes he was wearing and although she suspected that it was most likely Joe's she insisted that he remove them and let her examine him. Satisfied that he was indeed only carrying a few fresh bruises, she offered to supply him with a set of scrubs to change in to. He gratefully accepted and was soon sipping the coffee she had brought in looking less disheveled, if not less tired and anxious.

"Have your parents been notified, dear?" she asked. Frank shook his head. "Dad's undercover and we don't have any way of getting a hold of him, but I left a message with his contact inside the Police department in case he should call in. Mom is in Hawai'i and can't get a flight back until tomorrow some time."

Amanda made a quick decision. Being Head Nurse did have its perks. "Frank, it's a quiet night and I doubt very seriously we will have need of the bed next door. Why don't you take a shower and lie down for a bit. Joe will be some time before he returns. I promise to wake you once he is back and the doctor gives his okay for him to have visitors."

Frank's eyes shown with gratitude at the offer and he readily agreed. Nurse Keller was someone he had grown to trust and even like as she always seemed to be on duty whenever he or Joe were admitted. He knew she would keep her word and wake him. When she came by about twenty minutes later, he was sprawled across the hospital bed, arm flung over his head and dead to the world. She smiled softly and closed the door shutting out the harsh light from the hallway as well as the ambient noises and continued on her rounds.

It was almost three hours later when Joe Hardy arrived back on the 3rd floor. His normally rosy cheeks were sunken, grey and ashy. The rest of his face was obscured by the large manual air bag that was being methodically squeezed at regular intervals by the orderly who walked beside the gurney as it traveled down the hall. Amanda hurried from behind the desk and followed the gurney into Joe's Room and assisted the orderly in hooking up the ventilator and settling her patient into the hospital bed. The orderly commented "Not lookin' too good this time, is he? Doc Taylor said he'll be up momentarily to do another exam and update his chart."

"Thanks, Tom. You're right, he doesn't look well at all." Amanda sighed as she smoothed the tangle of slightly too long curly blond hair away from the unconscious boy's eyes. Despite his no longer actually being a boy, Amanda found it difficult to think of him or his brother in any other fashion.

True to the orderly's word, the slightly portly Doctor Taylor arrived within minutes. "Ahh, Mandy, good. Glad you are on shift tonight. I'm afraid Superman here got clobbered with pretty big chunk of Kryptonite. I want his vitals monitored every 15 minutes. Don't suppose it's too much to hope that you can spare Linda and have her sit with him?"

"Will Frank do? He's had a nice long nap so should be able to keep watch. Shall I go wake him?"

"Hell, Frank knows almost as much as the nurses do when it comes to watching for signs of distress. Plus I wouldn't put it past him to notice something is wrong _before_ a nurse would. It's almost scary how attuned he is to Joe. Yes, please do that while I do a short look see." With a smile he turned to his patient and began listening to the lungs, looking for signs of fluid buildup or other distress.

Amanda turned and left the room but stopped back into the break room and grabbed another cup of coffee before returning to the room where Frank was asleep. Gently touching his shoulder, she was unsurprised when he was awake and alert immediately. "Joe?"

"Doctor Taylor is with him now but he does want to speak to you. I volunteered you to sit with your brother all night and watch the monitors. Hope you don't mind, but I cannot spare Linda for only one patient."

Frank just nodded and said "I would have insisted I be allowed to stay with him anyway. As you well know." This last was accompanied by a small smile as he accepted the proffered cup and sipped at the strong black liquid inside. Just then, a growling sound that emanated from Frank's stomach made both Nurse and concerned brother jump and then laugh in embarrassment.

"Well that I can do something about. The day shift had some sort of potluck and the fridge is full of leftovers. Let's give the Doctor a few more minutes and in the meantime get you something more filling than caffeine." Amanda led the way to the break room and promptly filled a plate to the brim with potato salad, baked beans, cornbread and added a heaping bowl of chili for good measure. Frank said little past a mumbled "Thanks, this looks great" before inhaling everything at great speed. Amanda suspected it had been many hours since he had last eaten. In a matter of moments the plate and bowl were both empty, but he turned down an offer of seconds. He did, however, eye the remnants of a sheet cake that was sitting next to the microwave. "Umm, is that Chocolate?" he asked wistfully.

Amanda laughed as she sliced a generous portion and passed it over. " I thought Joe was the chocolate addict?"

Frank blushed just a little. "Well, he is , mostly. I just needed a sugar rush I guess."

At that moment, Dr. Taylor came into the break room. "Ahh Frank, there you are. Why, thank you Mandy a slice of cake would be just lovely this evening" he exclaimed jovially. Amanda smiled tolerantly and handed a plate full of cake over to the doctor. "I believe that is my cue to go do rounds. Frank, come to your brother's room when you are done." With a last smile in Frank's direction, she slipped out on quiet soled shoes and attended to her duties.

The rest of the evening passed quietly with Amanda and Linda alternating the every fifteen minute readings. At one point, Frank apologized for the frequency. "Nonsense, dear. Everyone else on the floor doesn't need quite as close an eye on them so do not think your wayward sibling is keeping me from my other patients." Amanda laughed.

Just before 630 the next morning, Amanda popped her head in one last time before ending her shift. Frank was looking tired and desperately needed a shave. "Frank, Dr. Taylor just called and he will be checking on Joe first when he comes it at 7. Why don't you go freshen up and grab some breakfast downstairs. The day shift has begun to arrive so I can sit with your brother." Despite the reluctant look he sent in Joe's direction, he did admit he could use the distraction.

As soon as Frank was out of the room, Mandy began checking Joe's vitals and marking the results on the chart at the foot of his bed. The young man had passed the night relatively quietly and was resting as comfortably as could be expected for the condition he was in. But he was still in very bad shape and Mandy was not happy with his blood oxygen levels at all.

True to his word, Dr. Taylor arrived promptly at 7. In fact , Mandy strongly suspected he had not stopped for coffee before checking up on his patient, due in large part to his rather gruff manner, so unlike his usual jovial self. Harumphing at the numbers on the chart in his hands, he gave the order to increase the respirator's flow and made some minor changes to the medications being delivered via IV.

"Let the day shift know I want the current readings to stand at every 15 minutes. I'll be back later this morning after the rest of my rounds. The surgeon will be here by noon so we will consult then. Where's Frank?" he asked, looking around as if half expecting the elder brother to be hovering nearby.

"I sent him for breakfast and to freshen up." she replied. " I am sure he will be back shortly."

Sure enough, just then the door squeaked open and in walked Frank. "Hi doc, how is he?" he asked anxiously.

"Well son let's you and I have a little confab, shall we?"

This was Mandy's cue to leave so she said her good mornings to both men and made her way back to the nurse's station where she passed along Dr. Taylor's updated orders and turned over the rest of the charts to the oncoming day shift. As she bundled up against the winter chill she took one last moment to spare a thought for her patient. She only hoped she would still have a patient when she returned to work in 16 hours' time.

**Tbc...**

**A/n: **_Up next, poor beleaguered big brother Frank._


End file.
